Adjustable brace for tilt-up construction

ABSTRACT

A tilt-up brace is provided which includes an adjustable strut having an upper pipe portion and a lower pipe portion. Partially engaged within and welded to the upper pipe portion is a pipe of smaller cross section which is received within the lower pipe portion. The ends of an adjusting bar having halves of reversed thread are received by threaded eyes. The eyes are secured to the upper and lower pipe portions adjacent their confronting ends, the bar in spanning relationship with these ends. Rotation of the adjusting bar will either draw together or spread apart the upper and lower portions of the strut. A friction locking assembly is provided on the lower pipe portion which when engaged will prevent further longitudinal movement of the pipes relative to one another once the strut is adjusted.

Y Donnels United States Patent [541 ADJUSTABLE BRACE FOR TILT-UP CONSTRUCTION [72] Inventor: Wayne T. Donnels, Reno, Nev.

[73] Assignee: The Walker Boudwin Construction Co., Inc., Reno, Nev.

[22] Filed: June 29, 1970 [21] Appl. No.: 50,505

[52] US. Cl. ..248/354 C, 248/354 S [51] Int. Cl. ..E04g 25/06 [58] Field of Search ..248/245, 295, 354 S, 356;

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,229,950 1/1966 MacRobbie ..248/354 S 2,684,824 7/1954 l-Iillberg ..248/354 S 1,174,858 3/1916 Hamilton ..287/58 CT 2,503,738 4/1950 Horton ..287/58 CT 3,014,685 12/1961 Jensen et a]. ..248/354 S [4 Oct. 24, 1972 FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 24,347 11/1909 Great Britain ..248/3545 859,065 12/1940 France ..248/354S Primary Examiner-William H. Schultz Attorney"-Townsend and Townsend [57] ABSTRACT A tilt-up brace is provided which includes an adjustable strut having an upper pipe portion and a lower pipe portion. Partially engaged within and welded to the upper pipe portion is a pipe of smaller cross section which is received within the lower pipe portion. The ends of an adjusting bar having halves of reversed thread are received by threaded eyes. The eyes are secured to the upper and lower pipe portions adjacent their confronting ends, the bar in spanning relationship with these ends. Rotation of the adjusting bar will either draw together or spread apart the upper and lower portions of the strut. A friction locking assembly is provided on the lower pipe portion which when engaged will prevent further longitudinal movement of the pipes relative to one another once the strut is adjusted.

3 Claims, 5 Drawing Figures ADTUSTABLE BRACE FOR TILT-UP CONSTRUCTION This invention pertains to adjustable tilt-up braces. More particularly, this invention pertains to adjustable tilt-up braces including a portable adjustment device and a friction locking assembly.

In the construction industry, tilt-up braces are used in concrete tilt-up construction wherein walls are cast on a floor, then raised to the vertical position and braced until secured in place. A typical brace includes a bracket with means for securing it to the inner surface of the wall slab, a bracket with means for detachably securing it to the top surface of the floor slab, and a rigid upwardly inclined strut interconnected between and attached to said brackets, the strut being capable of longitudinal adjustment in order that the wall slab may be tilted to the true, or vertical position, or any other angle as desired preliminary to securing it in place.

In U.S.'Pat. Nos. 2,684,824 and 3,229,950, tilt-up braces are described wherein the adjustment means is an integral part of the rigid, upwardly inclined strut. The overall length of the strut is either extended or reduced by turning of the adjustment device. Once the brace is properly adjusted, and the wall in true alignment, the adjusting device, however, may not be removed.

It is an object of this invention to provide a tilt-up brace including an adjustable strut and a removable adjustment device.

A further object of the invention is to provide an adjustable strut having a friction locking assembly for preventing longitudinal movement of the strut after removal of the adjustment device.

The tilt-up brace of this invention comprises a large diameter adjustable strut having an upper and lower section, and connectors at the far ends of the upper and lower sections for pivotal attachment to a precast panel and floor slab respectively. The upper section of the strut which is made from a large diameter pipe has a smaller diameter pipe welded in place'within it, the lower end of the small diameter pipe passing into the large diameter pipe which makes up the lower section of the strut. The adjustment device includes a threaded bar having a right hand threaded portion and a left hand threaded portion. Each end of the bar is threaded through an eye which is carried on a coupling. The couplings are removably mounted on the large diameter pipes near their confronting ends. Positioned adjacent the confronting ends of the large diameter pipes are circumferential depressions sized to receive complimentary abutments on the interior surface of the couplings. The couplings are thus held securely in place, slippage prevented.

The confronting ends of the pipes of the tilt-up brace of this invention are either spread apart or drawn together by turning of the threaded bar in the appropriate direction. Once the strut is adjusted, further longitudinal movement is prevented by tightening of the friction locking assembly. The adjustment device may then be removed for use with another strut.

The friction locking assembly includes a semicylindrical friction member, such as a brake shoe. The friction member is adjustably supported above the lower pipe near its confronting end, and positioned over an opening provided in said lower pipe through which the friction member may be passed. Engagement of the friction locking member results when tightened upon the smaller pipe received within the lower pipe portion of the strut.

Other objects, features, and characteristics of the adjustable tilt-up brace, removable brace adjustment device, and friction locking assembly of this invention will be apparent from the consideration of the following detailed description and drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a side elevation showing the brace of this invention attached to and supporting a tilt-up wall;

FIG. 2 is a side sectional view of the friction locking assembly of this invention taken along lines 2-2 of of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a transverse sectional view of the friction locking assembly taken along lines 3-3 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is an exploded partial side view of the adjustment device mounted upon the tilt-up brace of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 5 is a side sectional view of the adjustment device taken along lines 5-5 of FIG. 4.

With reference to the drawings, tilt-up brace 10 includes an adjustable strut 11, pivotal connectors 16 and 17, and wall brackets 20. Adjustable strut 1 1 comprises a first hollow cylindrical tube 12 and a second hollow cylindrical tube 14 in axial alignment with one another. Small diameter cylindrical tube 18, securely mounted withintube 12 such as by welding, projects therefrom and is received within tube 14. At the non-confronting .end of tube 12 a pair of oppositely opposed slits are provided which receive a flat pivotal connector 16, said connector wider than the diameter of the pipe. Tube 14, of the same diameter as tube 12, has slots similarly provided to receive a flat pivotal connector 17 identical in size to connector 16. The other end of the connectors are hingedly connected .to brackets 20 which are in turn bolted to wall slab 22 and floor slab 24.

Removable tilt-up brace adjustment device 30 comprises threaded bar 32, adjustment nut 34, and threaded eyes 36 and 37 which are carried by couplings 38 and 39 respectively. Threaded bar 32 consists, of two threaded sections, half of the bar having a right hand thread, and the other half a left hand thread. This bar may be fabricated from two bolts of the appropriate thread direction, threaded halfway into adjustment nut 34 and welded in place. The free ends of the threaded bar are passed through eyes 36 and 37, each eye appropriately threaded to receive the particular thread direction of bar 32. The eyes are mounted on standard couplings such as victaulic couplings.

With reference to FIG. 4, adjacent the confronting ends of pipes 12 and 14 are circumferential annular depressions 40. These depressions are so spaced as to engage complementary circular abutments provided on the inside surface of the couplings. Couplings 38 and 39 have a top portion 42 which is hingedly secured to bottom portion 44 through hinging arms 46 and 47, and hinge pin 48. Interlocking members 50 are provided to secure the couplings in a closed position once mounted upon the brace pipes.

Friction locking assembly comprises a semicylindrical brake shoe 62 secured to backing plate 64 which has at the top surface thereof and secured thereto threaded screw 66. The U-shaped plate 68, affixed to pipe 14, such as by welding, supports the screw and brake shoe above an opening in said pipe. The opening is large enough to allow the brake shoe to pass therethrough and contact the outer surface of smaller diameter cylindric pipe 18. Plate 68 at its center is threaded to receive a screw 66 and carries the brake shoe at such height above the pipes as to permit adjustment thereof. Friction locking contact between brake shoe 62 and inner pipe 18 is afforded when the screw 66 is turned clockwise. When the screw is turned counterclockwise, the brake shoe is raised out of contact with pipe 18, allowing movement of the inner pipe within outer pipe 14. i

In practice, a concrete wall is first cast on a floor, and then'raised into a substantially vertical position. Both the fioor slab and the wall slab are provided with bolts to which wall brackets 20 are secured. The brackets are fastened to the wall and floor, pivotal connectors 16 inserted and the adjustable strut, cylindric tube 18 received within pipe 14, aligned between the brackets. The strut isthen expanded so that fiat connectors are fully engaged in the slots provided in pipes 12 and 14. Threaded screw 66 may then be turned clockwise to tighten the semi-cylindrical brake against the outer surface of pipe 18 thereby fixing the length of the brace to hold the wall in a substantially vertical position.

Fine adjustment of the length of the tilt-up brace to move the wall to a true vertical position is achieved through use of the removable adjustment device. Nut 34 of the adjustment device is turned in the appropriate direction so that the distance between couplings 38 and 39 matches that between the depressions 40 on the ends of the pipe 12 and 14. The couplings are then mounted onto the pipes and locked in place. Threaded screw 66 is turned counter-clockwise to lessen the pressure of the brake on pipe 18, therefore, allowing for limited movement of the pipe within pipe 14. With the brake shoe only partially engaged, the brace adjustor will prevent the pipes from being forced together, or pulled apart. Bolt 34 is then turned clockwise or counter-clockwise as desired to either spread apart or pull together the confronting ends of the pipes, altering the overall length of the strut and thereby changing the tilt of the wall slab. Once the wall is aligned as desired, the screw of the locking assembly is turned to tightly engage brake shoe 62 upon inner pipe 18, thus preventing movement of the inner pipe. The couplings of the wall brace adjustor may be then opened and the adjustor removed and taken to the next tilt-up brace for fine adjusting.

Although one embodiment of this invention has been described and illustrated, it will be obvious that other adaptations and modifications can be made without departing from the true spirit and scope of this invention, said scope limited only by the following claims.

What I claim is:

1. In an adjustable wall brace for tilt-up building construction including:

a first bracket having means for mounting a pivotal connector thereto and rigidly mountable on a tiltup building wall;

a first elongate, hollow, pipe element having a cylindrical extension rigidly mounted at one end and means for mounting a pivotal connector at the other end;

a first pivotal connector pivotally uniting the first bracket with the first pipe element at their respective pivotal mounting means;

a second elongate hollow pipe element that at one end slidably and telescopically engagesthe cylindrical extension of the first pipe element and at the other end has means for mounting a pivotal connector;

a second bracket rigidly mountable upon a building floor and having means for mounting a pivotal connector thereto;

a second pivotal connector that pivotally unites the second bracket with the second pipe element at their respective pivotal mounting means; and

adjusting means for extending and retracting the first and second telescopically engaging pipe elements;

the improvement in said adjusting means comprising:

a first coupling member removably clampable on the first hollow pipe element remote from the pivotal mounting end of 7 said pipe element, .said first coupling member having an internally threaded boss mounted on the outer surface thereof with threads aligned coaxially with said pipe element;

a second coupling member removably clampable on the second hollow pipe element remote from the pivotable mounting end of said pipe element, said second coupling member having an internally threaded boss mounted on the outer surface thereof with threads aligned coaxially with said pipe element;

and a threaded elongate adjusting member having tool engaging surfaces central thereof,

one end of the member having external righthand threads and the other'end of the member having external lefthand threads, said threads both being coaxial with said member,

said adjusting member threadably engaging the internally threaded bosses on the first and second clamping members and is disposed in parallel, spaced apart relationship with the first and second telescopically engaging pipe elements.

2. In the wall brace of claim 1 wherein the improvement in said adjusting means further comprises:

a frictional locking means on the second pipe element, said locking means comprising a yoke rigidly mounted on the exterior surface of the second pipe element and having a threaded bore in the central portion thereof, said threaded bore having an axis perpendicular to the major axis of the second pipe element;

a frictional shoe plate captured by said yoke and fitted within a substantial cut-out section of the second pipe element, said cut-out section exposing the exterior surface of the cylindrical extension of the first pipe element that telescopically engages the second pipe element;

said shoe plate having a frictional material fixedly attached thereon for frictionally contacting through the cut-out section the exposed exterior surface of the cylindrical extension;

and a tightening element threadably engaging the bore of the yoke and rotatably captured by the shoe plate so that rotation of the tightening element will move the frictional material on the shoe plate toward and away form the exposed exterior surface of the cylindrical extension thereby permitting both the extension and retraction of the telescopically engaging pipe elements and the locking of the pipe elements together.

3. An adjustable brace for varying the combined length of two pipe elements in telescoping relationship comprising:

a first coupling member having two opposed, arcuate arms hingedly engaging each other around a cylindrical hinge pin disposed parallel to said telescoping pipe elements;

said arcuate arms each having a cylindrical inner surface for engaging the cylindrical exterior surface of one of the telescoping pipe elements;

said arcuate arms further having means for removably locking together thereby permitting both the removal of the first coupling member from around the respective pipe element and also the rigid locking of the first coupling member to the respective telescoping pipe element;

said first coupling member further having an internally threaded boss mounted on the exterior cylindrical surface of an arcuate arm, the threads of said boss being parallel with said telescoping pipes;

a second coupling member having two opposed, ar-

cuate arms hingedly engaging each other around a cylindrical hinge pin disposed parallel to said telescoping pipe elements;

said arcuate arms each having a cylindrical inner surface for engaging the cylindrical exterior surface of one of the telescoping pipe elements;

said arcuate arms further having means for removably locking together thereby permitting both the removal of the second coupling member from around the respective pipe element and also the rigid locking of the second coupling member to the respective telescoping pipe element;

said second coupling member further having an internally threaded boss mounted on the exterior cylindrical surface of an arcuate arm, the threads of said boss being parallel with said telescoping pipes; and

a threaded elongate adjusting member having a first end segment with external righthand threads thereon, a medial segment with tool engaging surfaces thereon, and a second end segment with external lefthand threads thereon, both said end segments simultaneously threadably engaging the respective bosses on the first and second coupling members, the adjusting member being in parallel, spaced apart relationship with said telescoping pipe elements. 

1. In an adjustable wall brace for tilt-up building construction including: a first bracket having means for mounting a pivotal connector thereto and rigidly mountable on a tilt-up building wall; a first elongate, hollow, pipe element having a cylindrical extension rigidly mounted at one end and means for mounting a pivotal connector at the other end; a first pivotal connector pivotally uniting the first bracket with the first pipe element at their respective pivotal mounting means; a second elongate hollow pipe element that at one end slidably and telescopically engages the cylindrical extension of the first pipe element and at the other end has means for mounting a pivotal connector; a second bracket rigidly mountable upon a building floor and having means for mounting a pivotal connector thereto; a second pivotal connector that pivotally unites the second bracket with the second pipe element at their respective pivotal mounting means; and adjusting means for extending and retracting the first and second teLescopically engaging pipe elements; the improvement in said adjusting means comprising: a first coupling member removably clampable on the first hollow pipe element remote from the pivotal mounting end of said pipe element, said first coupling member having an internally threaded boss mounted on the outer surface thereof with threads aligned coaxially with said pipe element; a second coupling member removably clampable on the second hollow pipe element remote from the pivotable mounting end of said pipe element, said second coupling member having an internally threaded boss mounted on the outer surface thereof with threads aligned coaxially with said pipe element; and a threaded elongate adjusting member having tool engaging surfaces central thereof, one end of the member having external righthand threads and the other end of the member having external lefthand threads, said threads both being coaxial with said member, said adjusting member threadably engaging the internally threaded bosses on the first and second clamping members and is disposed in parallel, spaced apart relationship with the first and second telescopically engaging pipe elements.
 2. In the wall brace of claim 1 wherein the improvement in said adjusting means further comprises: a frictional locking means on the second pipe element, said locking means comprising a yoke rigidly mounted on the exterior surface of the second pipe element and having a threaded bore in the central portion thereof, said threaded bore having an axis perpendicular to the major axis of the second pipe element; a frictional shoe plate captured by said yoke and fitted within a substantial cut-out section of the second pipe element, said cut-out section exposing the exterior surface of the cylindrical extension of the first pipe element that telescopically engages the second pipe element; said shoe plate having a frictional material fixedly attached thereon for frictionally contacting through the cut-out section the exposed exterior surface of the cylindrical extension; and a tightening element threadably engaging the bore of the yoke and rotatably captured by the shoe plate so that rotation of the tightening element will move the frictional material on the shoe plate toward and away form the exposed exterior surface of the cylindrical extension thereby permitting both the extension and retraction of the telescopically engaging pipe elements and the locking of the pipe elements together.
 3. An adjustable brace for varying the combined length of two pipe elements in telescoping relationship comprising: a first coupling member having two opposed, arcuate arms hingedly engaging each other around a cylindrical hinge pin disposed parallel to said telescoping pipe elements; said arcuate arms each having a cylindrical inner surface for engaging the cylindrical exterior surface of one of the telescoping pipe elements; said arcuate arms further having means for removably locking together thereby permitting both the removal of the first coupling member from around the respective pipe element and also the rigid locking of the first coupling member to the respective telescoping pipe element; said first coupling member further having an internally threaded boss mounted on the exterior cylindrical surface of an arcuate arm, the threads of said boss being parallel with said telescoping pipes; a second coupling member having two opposed, arcuate arms hingedly engaging each other around a cylindrical hinge pin disposed parallel to said telescoping pipe elements; said arcuate arms each having a cylindrical inner surface for engaging the cylindrical exterior surface of one of the telescoping pipe elements; said arcuate arms further having means for removably locking together thereby permitting both the removal of the second coupling member from around the respective pipe element and also the rigid locking of the second coupling member to the respective telescoping Pipe element; said second coupling member further having an internally threaded boss mounted on the exterior cylindrical surface of an arcuate arm, the threads of said boss being parallel with said telescoping pipes; and a threaded elongate adjusting member having a first end segment with external righthand threads thereon, a medial segment with tool engaging surfaces thereon, and a second end segment with external lefthand threads thereon, both said end segments simultaneously threadably engaging the respective bosses on the first and second coupling members, the adjusting member being in parallel, spaced apart relationship with said telescoping pipe elements. 